The Jersey Shore Boca Premier Development League team will kick off their 2003 season in May as the complete Boca PDL schedule was officially released today by Walt Pericciuoli, Boca’s Vice President and General Manager.The Jersey Shore Boca Premier Development League team will kick off their 2003 season in May as the complete Boca PDL schedule was officially released today by Walt Pericciuoli, Boca’s Vice President and General Manager.

The Jersey Shore Boca PDL side will compete in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the PDL and play a twelve game schedule.

Boca’s inaugural PDL match will be on Sunday May 4th when they travel to New York City to face the powerful Brooklyn Knights at the historic Metropolitan Oval venue.

Jersey Shore Boca will play their first home PDL game on Saturday June 7th when they host the Rhode Island Stingrays. Boca’s PDL weekend home stand will continue the next day when they square off against the Vermont Voltage for a Sunday afternoon contest.

The club’s 2003 PDL schedule includes six home and six away games from May through July. Boca’s home PDL matches will be played at Ocean County College in Toms River, NJ

The final game of the Boca PDL schedule includes a July 18th date at the Cape Cod Crusaders, the 2002 PDL National Champions.

Jersey Shore Boca was awarded a Premier Development League franchise from the United Soccer Leagues on November 25, 2002.

The PDL is one of five leagues under the umbrella of the USL. The USL consists of two professional leagues (A-League and D-3 Pro League), men’s amateur league (PDL), women’s open league (W-League) and the elite youth Super Y-League.

Designed to help develop players for professional careers, the PDL allows elite high school and college players to compete in a “pro”-like environment without losing their college eligibility. The PDL was also granted Olympic Development Program status by the United States Soccer Federation in 2001.

The Premier Development League is the only national men’s U-23 amateur league in the country. PDL rosters can carry up to twenty-six players, including up to eight players over the age of 23. PDL rosters must also include at least three players who are under the age of 19.

PDL teams also have the opportunity to compete against teams from Major League Soccer, the A-League and the D3 Pro League on an annual basis in exhibition games and in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

On January 8th of this year, David Vaudreuil was named head coach of the Jersey Shore Boca PDL team.

Vaudreuil recently ended his fourteen-year professional playing career in October when he retired from Major League Soccer at the end of the 2002 season. He is a seven-year veteran of MLS having played in 176 games and logged over 13 thousand minutes on the field.

During his tenure with Major League Soccer, Vaudreuil won two MLS Cups (1996 and 1997) and one Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (1996) as a member of DC United. He also played one season with the Miami Fusion (1998) and two seasons each with the Colorado Rapids (1999-2000) and Chicago Fire (2001-2002).

Prior to joining the MLS, Vaudreuil’s professional playing experience included stints with the Connecticut Wolves and Hampton Roads Mariners of the USL, Baltimore Blast and Milwaukee Wave of the NPSL and the New York Centaurs and Tampa Bay Rowdies of the APSL. He began his professional career in 1989 with the Washington Stars of the ASL.

Jersey Shore Boca has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1978 and is one of the most respected soccer clubs in New Jersey. The club is celebrating their 25-year anniversary in 2003.

The club is based out of Toms River and programs include youth level teams from U11 to U19, a U23 program and a men’s “open” team.

Jersey Shore Boca is also a three-year member of the USL’s elite Super Y-League.

Boca alumni include several former National and Olympic Team members as well as numerous collegiate DI –DIII players, coaches and former local high school standouts.

One of the most recognized Boca alumni is current U18 United States Men’s National Team & University of VA Coach George Gelnovatch who played under Boca Coach Walt Pericciuoli while also staring at Wall High School in the 1980s. Gelnovatch is also a former member of the US National Team and played professionally with DC United of Major League Soccer.